"I Have a Dream"

Andrew with his sisters

"I have a dream that one day,.... little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers."

-Martin Luther King

I am not sure if Martin Luther King thought the phrase from his speech would be as literal as it is for our family, and so many other families out there, but I for one am glad that it is. What a great country we live in and I am so thankful for our freedoms and the progress we have made.

Turkey Day!!

Love this. Kids make everything better, especially holidays. I am so grateful for all my many blessings, especially my kids. Each phase is so fun I want to soak it all up, "I don't want this feeling to go away, please don't go away" Upside Down Jack Johnson

lnspite of being away from family, we had a great Thanksgiving. We celebrated with two families in our ward and it was very nice. I'm gaining an appreciation for the out of state ward "family". I feel so thankful for all my blessings, family, friends, gospel, freedom. Now how to give back with this crazy life we have? I'm open for suggestions. Hope all had a great Day.

Musings

I can hardly believe the Week of Thanksgiving is upon us. 2009 is coming to a close and I find myself wondering where has it gone? The older I get the more the phrase 'time flies' means. Life is going at warp speed and daily I am reminding myself to enjoy the moment the task at hand, because all too quickly, the children who make me want to pull my hair out during the hour of sacrament meeting, will be grown and gone.

It is funny with the holidays closing in my usual feelings of nostalgia are here and stronger than ever as this is my first Thanksgiving and will be first Christmas away from family. I have started listening to Christmas Cd's while driving in my car to home care visits. The phrases "I'll be home for Christmas," and "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas," have taken on new meaning. They have intensified my longing for home.

We will be hosting Thanksgiving at our house with two young families in our ward and it will be fun but not the same as keeping with usual traditions. I am looking forward to the preparations, cooking, yummy food, and delicious smells emanating from my kitchen.

In all honesty I am not ready for this time of year to be here. I need 1-2 more months to prepare. I guess the key is to simplify, enjoy celebrating the reason for the season. instead of the commercialized side of Christmas. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving week and we remember all we have to be grateful for. Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween!!

So here are the kiddos for Halloween: Annie the Clown. Will she ever quit with the constant fingers in the mouth so we can have a picture that doesn't have her fist in her mouth?? I do love the profile shot.

Anna and Andrew. Couldn't get her to keep the wig on but we did manage to get a picture. I think they are darling.

Kitty-Cat Lexie. We have gotten our money's worth out of this costume. She has worn the tights and leotard everyday.

Andrew the cowboy! I think he looks great. He had a blast and would throw his hat up and say ye haw! He is great (most days. today not so much, another post entirely.)

We went to a ward party on Halloween night. They had a dinner and Trunk or Treat. We were planning on doing a little trick or treating afterward, but they had plenty of candy and tons of fun. We called it a night.

Just wondering does anyone besides me raid your kids Halloween candy? Does this make me a rotten mother? I remember my mom let us keep our candy in our rooms. Mom what were you thinking? Or do some people let there kids keep the stash in there rooms? Well hope everyone had a good holiday and bring on Thanksgiving. I do so love this time of year.

Christmas 2008

I'm a bit behind and I wanted to post some pictures of Christmas. I love the season and look forward to it every year, but for the first time I was not sad to see it go. This must mean I'm getting old. Jeremy's parents came up on Christmas Eve and slept over. It was fun to have them and the kids loved having them here. Linda was a huge help and without here Santa may not have found our house, I was especially glad she was here. We had a great Christmas, we are very blessed with many material things, wonderful and supportive family, and the gospel. Here are some pics of the season.

Anna with Santa, we were glad she didn't' cry!

Lexie with Santa. She asked for a fixed doll.

Andrew with Santa. He asked for a train to go around the Christmas tree, Santa delivered.

Lexie in her Cinderella dress and crown Christmas morning

Andrew Christmas morning. He looks mad, but he wasn't.

Rory and Anna giggling

The Christmas tree

Putting out candy and carrots for Santa and reindeer

Lexie licking the beater after making fudge. It was a good batch.

"Old Glory"

I have always loved the 4th of July. I'm not sure why we always go to the parade as it is no longer floats, just vehicles driving by. We had fun and I think next year maybe we'll enter an actual float. Although a float would be far more work than I'm sure I realize, but then all the kids could ride on it, and I'm sure it is more fun to be in the parade than watch the parade. I did the fun run in the morning and it is apparent how out of shape I am. We didn't make it clear to the fireworks, the kids and I were too exhausted. I was a little sad cause oh how I love fireworks.

I wanted to say how I love this country and and so grateful to live here. The United States truly is the land of opportunity and privilege. How thankful I am to live here, and how I appreciate the men and women in all the branches of the service who work to preserve our freedoms. I love this land and all patriotic songs. I'M PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!! GOD BLESS THE USA!

Easter!

I love Easter and always have. It definitely has the best candy, colors, flowers, and it comes at a time of year when I'm so ready for warmer weather to finally arrive. We had a nice holiday. Neither Jeremy or I had to work. We survived sacrament meeting, which honestly with our kids the ages they are is a challenge every week. Some weeks, or most, I wonder why we go. The kids got way too much candy and I have had to monitor their consumption according to how well they eat at meals, which for the past two days has not been good. So they haven't gotten much candy, well that is to say that I have given them. They have had plenty they sneak and that which grandparents gave them. We haven't completed all of the Easter festivities I want to, so we are going to continue the holiday through April so we can dye eggs and do the twelve days of Easter, just a little thing to help the kids learn the meaning and reason behind the celebration. I can't help but think all of the running around sometimes detracts from the holiday though. I'm not sure how I would do it different though.

On a different note, I have forgotten that being a mother is the hardest job there is. How could I forget? Well Jeremy has been home, I've been at work and after a few days with Jeremy back to work and me at home I find myself exhausted tonight, and running short on patience with my kids never ending excuses to get out of bed. I wouldn't trade it for anything though. Hope you all had a nice Easter.